Northern Lights, a joint venture between Shell, Equinor and TotalEnergies, has issued its first certificates verifying permanent carbon storage in the Aurora reservoir, which will boost efforts to build a transparent market for maritime carbon transport and sequestration.
The joint venture said the documentation covers CO2 volumes shipped from Heidelberg Materials’ cement plant in Brevik and injected into the offshore reservoir, located 2,600 metres beneath the seabed in the Norwegian North Sea. The milestone follows the start of injection operations in August, after CO2 was transported through a 100-kilometre pipeline to the subsea storage site.
Tim Heijn, Managing Director at Northern Lights, described robust data transparency as essential to establishing trust in the evolving carbon capture and storage sector: ‘Credible carbon accounting is essential to the integrity of the emerging CCS industry. It includes a precise tracking of CO2 volumes transported and stored, as well as emissions arising across the value chain’, he said. ‘The CO2 accounting and measurement procedures are described in Northern Lights’ Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV). Data is recorded in our digital system, which is designed as ledger for all certificates. We are proud to be able to issue the first storage certificates for our customers.’
Each certificate corresponds to a specific shipborne cargo of liquefied CO2. The documentation quantifies the volume stored and provides a breakdown of lifecycle emissions associated with transport and operations, from loading at industrial facilities through to the issuance of the certificate. Northern Lights says the structure ensures each document serves as transparent and verifiable proof of permanent storage, a requirement expected by both compliance and voluntary carbon markets.
The introduction of certificate-based verification is viewed as an important step for the maritime carbon economy. Standardised documentation has been a missing element for customers evaluating cross-border CO2 transport and long-term storage arrangements.
The development comes at a time of rapid expansion in the LCO2 shipping fleet. Earlier this month, Dalian Shipbuilding Industry delivered Northern Phoenix to the joint venture, the third of four purpose-built LCO2 carriers. The vessels will transport LCO2 collected from clients outside Norway to Northern Lights’ receiving terminal at Øygarden, supporting the scale-up of cross-border carbon transport.
The certification framework is expected to support industrial clients seeking long-term decarbonisation solutions. By providing verifiable proof of permanent storage, Northern Lights is strengthening its position in the emerging carbon value chain, in which shipping is likely to become an essential link between dispersed emitters and offshore storage sites.
The next phase for the project will focus on scaling injection capacity and integrating additional shipping routes as demand for transport and storage services increases. Verification mechanisms supported by MRV systems and digital ledgers are expected to play a central role in shaping the development of future carbon markets.
